Death to "The King": Burger King Picks New Ad Agency

The relationship between Miami-based Burger King and Coconut Grove-based ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky has officially come to an end. After announcing in March that CP+B's services would no longer be needed, the fast-food chain has announced that New York-based McGarryBowen will take over their $320-million advertising account. Not coming along is the chain's creepy mascot "The King," and McGarryBowen will instead focus on advertising BK's actual food. A novel idea for a restaurant, ain't it?

The partnership between CP+B and BK raised the ad agency's profile almost as much as it did the restaurant chain's. Through a bizarre string of advertisements, including "the subservient chicken," "the whopper freak out," and "I Like Square Butts," set a quirky but attention grabbing tone for the burger joint's advertising.

After Brazilian investment group 3G partners bought a majority stake in Burger King, the company has undergone major shake ups including on the menu board and the board room. A change in advertising direction seemed inevitable.

McGarryBowen's take on advertising is a bit more traditional than CP+B's, but they aren't old hat. They were named Ad Age's agency of the year in 2009, and have handled advertising campaigns for brands like Verizon, Crayola, Kraft Foods, Disney, and Chevron.

CP+B will work with McGarryBowen for a few weeks during the transition. The ad firm will likely produce more traditional commercials focusing on Burger King's food.

Riptide would like to take this opportunity to thank Crispin Porter for all the easy blog fodder their BK ads have given us over the years. Lord knows we won't be blogging about boring commercials highlighting the finer points of a Whopper on the regular.

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